Slyne-with-Hest

Slyne-with-Hest is a civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. It had a population of 3,163 recorded in the 2001 census, decreasing to 3,126 at the 2011 Census. The parish is north of Lancaster and consists of two villages; Slyne, on the A6 road, and Hest Bank on the coast.

1. History

Hest Bank (54°05′N 2°48′W ) is a village in north-western Lancashire, England, the boundaries of which include the coastline, from a western shoreline of salt-flats that adjoin the northern extremities of Morecambe's Victorian era Promenade, to a less clearly defined boundary in the east with the village of Slyne, which dates from Anglo-Saxon times.

1. Notable buildings and roads

Hest Bank's best-known building, 'The Hest Bank Hotel' (previously named the Sands Inn), is itself hundreds of years old, and once served as a coaching station for traffic crossing the sands of what is now called Morecambe Bay. Ordnance Survey Maps still show the right-of-way across Morecambe Bay from Hest Bank to Grange-over-Sands, and many walkers enjoy guided walks across the bay, which take place from Spring to Autumn, normally every other weekend, tides allowing. The right-of-way is not suitable for normal motor vehicles, there being water at around knee-height to cross at the outflow from the River Kent.

1. Governance

An electoral ward of the same name exists. This ward extends beyond the confines of the parish and has a population taken at the 2011 Census of 4,119. Before Brexit for the European Parliament residents in Slyne-with-Hest voted to elect MEPs for the North West England constituency.

1. Railway line

In 1965 this originally coastal village was the scene of a rail accident on 20 May, when a sleeper train from London Euston bound for Glasgow Central left the rails at 70 mph and collided with the Hest Bank station buildings. No one was seriously injured, although from that time Hest Bank has ceased to serve as a passenger station, its railside platform consequently now lying buried in undergrowth.

1. Community

The village has a primary school: St Lukes Slyne-with-Hest; and tennis, football and bowling clubs.

1. Notable people

Tyson Fury, boxer Dame Thora Hird, actress Lisa O'Hare, actress Helen Pidd, journalist

1. See also

Listed buildings in Slyne-with-Hest

1. References


1. External links

Official website Cross Bay Run to Hest Bank by Keith Wilkinson (reporter) ITV Local report on Cross Bay Run to Hest Bank

Nearby Places View Menu

St Luke's Church, Slyne with Hest

St Luke's Church is in Manor Lane, Slyne-with-Hest, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Tunstall, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is united with those of St Saviour, Aughton, and St Wilfrid, Halton. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Church

Hest Bank railway station

Hest Bank railway station was opened by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (L&CR) three miles north of Lancaster Castle railway station. The line had been authorised in 1844 and a station was proposed for the village of Hest Bank, Lancashire, the following year. It opened in 1846 along with the line. The station continued to serve the village of Hest Bank until its closure in 1969. The site remains notable as being the point at which the present-day West Coast Main Line (WCML) comes nearest to the west coast. Views of Morecambe Bay can be glimpsed from trains on this section of the line. Meanwhile, the "little" North Western Railway had been formed to link Skipton to Lancaster and with the Morecambe Harbour and Railway planned to make a junction with the L&CR at Hest Bank. Regrettably this never materialised. Hoping to develop an export trade in coke and other minerals, the L&CR applied on its own account to build the branch to Morecambe, receiving permission in 1859. At this point the line was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and it was the latter that built the branch as a double track opening in 1864. In time however the branch was singled, but with an increase in holiday trade a south facing curve was added to the junction during 1888. Later a part of the branch from Bare Lane was redoubled and is still open as the Morecambe Branch Line. Hest Bank station itself was of rugged stone construction, a two-storey station house with a booking hall below on the up (southbound) platform. It was next to a level crossing over a minor road linking the A589 with houses, a water treatment works and a caravan park further along the foreshore. A small cottage for the crossing keeper was provided on the down (coastal-facing) side along with a footbridge to connect the platforms. The down side also had two sidings, one providing a bay platform. At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. During the 'thirties the station became remarkable as the only one between Preston and Carlisle with electric lighting, thanks to the ingenuity of a member of staff. Four camping coaches were positioned here by the London Midland Region from 1960 to 1963, then it increased to five until 1969. The goods yard closed on 2 December 1963 but the tracks were used for the camping coaches until the end of the 1969 season despite the station finally closing to passengers in February 1969. All traces of the platforms and buildings have disappeared (though the crossing keeper's cottage survived until 2012), as the incoming Morecambe branch was extended along the length of one of the former platforms as part of the layout changes associated with the 1973 WCML electrification scheme. The nearby signal box still stands although now disused. Its latter role, purely as a manually controlled gate box to supervise the adjacent level crossing and that at nearby Bolton-le-Sands, was brought to an end in the Spring of 2013. NR had published proposals to close the box here initially at the end of 2012, which was briefly postponed until February 2013 before the work was finally carried out in May. Both crossings are now worked direct from Preston PSB using CCTV.

Landmark Train

Morecambe and Lunesdale

Morecambe and Lunesdale is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Lizzi Collinge for Labour.

Government Neighbourhood

Venus and Cupid (sculpture)

Love, The Most Beautiful Of Absolute Disasters, popularly known as Venus and Cupid is a sculpture by Shane A. Johnstone which stands on a slight promontory beside Morecambe Bay on the eastern approach to Morecambe, Lancashire, England.

Art Landmark